Upside-down
by Spector7
Summary: Voltron loses a battle and Keith loses his mind. One-shot. Post season 4. Re-posted due to technical difficulties.


**I saw this fanart and I LOVED it! Keith is stealing my heart!**

 **Plus I needed Space Dad fluff!**

 **I don't own Voltron (sadly).**

* * *

"I still can't believe I'm stuck on the stupid ship with stupid Lotor with stupid nothing to do!" Keith grumbled as he collapsed into his seat in the control room. He stared out into space, scanning the empty space for any sign of Voltron. Nothing. "QUIZNAK!" he shouted in frustration.

"I can hear you," an annoyed voice drawled in a monotone way.

Keith glared at the large viewport, trying to ignore the unescapable truth about the situation. The paladins—and Koran—had left on a training run to the planet Lothal. Not only was it a reassuring show of force, it was also a great chance to show Koran the true power of Voltron.

Without him.

Since he was no longer a paladin and the Blade of Malmora had no current use for him on any missions, everyone had voted for him to stay behind and keep Prince Lotor out of trouble. He had to face it.

He was a third wheel.

He was stuck on the castle of lions with nothing to do, nowhere to go, and—worst of all—he had to babysit a galra!

"Why are you wasting your breath trying to fix something you have no control of?" Lotor asked as he strode over to stand behind Keith's seat. "It is a lost cause."

Keith grunted. "I know that," he snapped back. He let his head rest in his folded arms, groaning. "Why me? Why couldn't it be Lance?" he mumbled. "I would rather be stuck with him then goody-to-shoes prince."

Lotor bit back a smart remark. He was new to this Voltron force and he didn't want to ruin his image. He needed someone on his side to help him defeat the galra. _To help him defeat his family._ He had lost so much to the war that was raging across the galaxy. He had lost his family. He had lost his crew. He had even lost his supporters.

He had lost everything.

 _Voltron was all he had._

Lotor eyed Keith suspiciously, expecting the strange creature to attack or just jump out the airlock. He never really got the red paladin. It was a shock that he had defeated Zarkon on many occasions. Come to think of it, it was a shock that Keith accomplished anything.

Even as a team.

"Are you plotting some evil scheme?" Keith questioned as he stood up from his seat to pace the room like a caged animal.

Lotor laughed off the comment. "Why would I?" he countered. "Why would I waste my time fighting a losing battle?"

"Because your galra!" Keith snapped back.

Lotor paused, considering the insult. "Aren't you part galra?" he calmly countered.

Keith stopped, angrily panting. Finding no better answer, he huffed and sat back down, his arms firmly crossed over his chest.

Lotor allowed himself a small smirk. He had won.

The door to the control room of the castle slid open with a hiss and several heavy footsteps filled the empty space.

Keith let out of his seat and rushed to greet the paladins, expecting to see ecstatic faces. Instead, all he saw were expressions full of misery. "What happened?" he asked as they trudged to their respective seats.

"The 'show of force' was actually a trap," Allura grumbled as she sat near the front.

Koran nodded. "I've never seen so many galra ships converge on one place! We were lucky to make it out alive!"

Keith paused, slightly taken aback by the depressing tones. "Did you win?" he asked.

Lance let out a dramatic sigh as he collapsed into his seat. "What do you think!?" he yelled. "We got our butts whipped out there!"

"Poor Green is a mess," Pidge cried, near tears. "I've never seen a robotic lion run away with its tail between its legs."

Keith nodded. "Uh-huh…" he slowly responded, trying to picture such a scene. He rushed over to Hunk's side. Maybe they were all being dramatic. Knowing perky, upbeat Hunk, Keith was sure he could coax the true story out of him. "So…" he started, leaning on the armrest of Hunk's seat. "What really happened out there?"

Hunk stood up, his arms held limply in front of him. "Hungry," he groaned in a zombie-like voice. "Need food. Must eat." He shakily walked towards the door.

Keith had enough.

"GUYS!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

They all paused to look at him.

Keith stopped, realizing that all eyes were on him. He turned a bright shade of red and felt his legs turn to jello. "I-it can't be that bad, can it?" he asked, ignoring the stutter in his voice.

"Yes," the others answered in unison.

 _Okay…_ "C'mon, guys!" he perked up, forcing a grin. "T-turn that frown upside d-down!" he paused, waiting for the others to respond.

They just stared.

"Hunk!" he called to the yellow paladin. "Remember? You told me yesterday you'd teach me that earth recipe! I'd like to learn that now!"

Hunk's expression brightened. "Well…okay…I mean, if you really want to learn—"

"Yea!" Keith cut him off. "Lance, remember that video game you and Pidge found at the space mall? You kept on telling me about it. It…uh…sounds really cool. Think I could play it sometime today?"

A grin spread across Lance's face. "Sure! You really want to learn?"

Keith nodded enthusiastically. "Pidge, didn't you mention that you had some sort of update for the lions you wanted to show me? Think you show me today? Would Mat mind?"

Pidge shook her head. "He's busy anyway," she assured him.

"Hey, Shiro," he continued. "I'm kinda out of practice with training and all. Would you mind teaching me some of your moves? They're really cool!"

Shiro shrugged with a smile. "If you're up to it I don't see why not."

"Great!" Keith's plan was working. "Allura, I heard you singing a song last night. Isn't it Altean? It was really pretty. Would you mind teaching me the words?"

Allura brightened. "I would love to!" she grinned.

"Koran," he finished, "I noticed the ship has gotten really dirty. Weren't you talking about cleaning it? I don't think you can clean it by yourself, can you? Why don't I help!"

Koran smiled. "Well, if you insist I would love some help."

Keith grinned as the rest of the paladins rushed off to do their jobs, their days brightened by Keith's generous offers. He was about to leave for his room when he felt a jab in his ribs.

"By the way," Koran spoke from behind the red paladin. He handed Keith a bucket and a mop. "I'm taking you up on that cleaning offer."

* * *

Shiro quietly tiptoed through the halls of the castle, careful not to wake any of the sleeping paladins. He turned a corner and rounded a bend, finding himself at the entrance to the training room.

"Keith," he whispered as he opened the door. "Thank you so much for offering to train—" he was cut short when the door opened to reveal the small form of Keith slumped over one of the training robots that had been disabled. He was loosely clutching his Malmora blade and quietly snoring.

Shiro shook his head with a smile and lightly walked over to where Keith lay. He picked up the sleeping paladin and—as quietly as he could—carried Keith to his room. He carefully laid the young man in his bed, tucked the covers around his limp body, and slipped his favorite hippo stuffed animal in the crook of his arm.

"Sleep well, Keith," he whispered as he backed out of the room. Shiro wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a content smile creep onto Keith's lips as he slept.

"Th'nk's, Sh'ro," Keith muttered in his sleep as he clutched his hippo closer.

Shiro smiled. "Your welcome."

* * *

 **BOOM! Two one-shots posted in a day! I am on a roll!**

 **Thanks so much for reading and I would like to give a special shout-out to my sister who helped me write Keith. She's a great sissy!**

 **Please read, favorite, follow, and review!**

 **May the Force be with you!**

 **-Spector7 out!**


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